Novelty devices have been employed for many years for the purpose of entertaining people. Such novelty devices have included loops and rings, which have been linked together in such a manner that the user can quickly and easily disconnect them. However, the spectator, when asked to perform such a feat, is unable to duplicate it.
While such devices are amusing, they are not always very challenging to more sophisticated or educated persons. In this regard, adult people, including engineers and scientists, might not find such a novelty item or puzzle to be very amusing or challenging. In this regard, such an engineer or scientist may well be able to quickly and easily determine the secret for solving the puzzle, by a mere visual inspection in a relatively short period of time. Thus, it would be highly desirable to have a novelty device which is very entertaining, and not subject to learning the secret to solving the puzzle in a ready manner, even by sophisticated adults who may have technical education or experience.
Such novelty devices have included magical apparatus used by magicians in performing magic tricks on the stage. For example, there have been remotely controlled devices employing radio frequency signals to enable the magician performer to activate secretly a device at a distance. However, such an apparatus is not at all susceptible to examination by the audience, without revealing the secret of its operation. Certainly, an engineer or scientist could readily inspect such an apparatus and determine exactly how it operates. The radio transmitter or receiver would be apparent by visual inspection, and the thought process of the more sophisticated spectator could readily analyze the device to determine the nature of its operation.
Thus, it would be highly desirable to have a novelty device which is constructed and arranged such that its operation is not readily susceptible to detection by an audience, including highly trained and skilled persons who might otherwise be able to analyze and determine the nature of the operation of the device. Such a device should be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, as compared to more expensive novelty equipment, such as radio controlled apparatus or the like.
Such a novelty device should not only be capable of deceiving a technically sophisticated person for entertainment purposes, but it should also be portable and light in weight. It should also be small and compact in size, so that the user can readily carry it with him or her, whereby it can be used on a variety of occasions. It should be able to be used by unskilled persons who do not possess a background and experience in highly technical fields, even though an engineer or scientist observing such a novelty device would be unable to ascertain how it function.